X-ray inspection of containers is well established for many purposes including the search for contraband, stolen property and the verification of the contents of shipments that cross national borders. When an object enclosed within a container is detected, various characteristics can be assessed by its interaction with penetrating radiation. If low energy x-rays (i.e., less than 500 KeV) traverse the object, the object can be assumed to not incorporate high-atomic-number fissile materials associated with a nuclear or radioactive device. Observation of backscattered radiation can give more substantive information regarding organic content.
Upon probing of an object opaque to low energy x-rays with high energy x-rays (i.e., in a range up to approximately 3.5 MeV), regions of dense material are both more readily penetrated and more readily traversed. Regions opaque to high energy x-rays may be unusually dense fissile material. However, a container of dense material may still shield the characteristic x-rays emitted by such material from detection.
A determinative test for fissile material is exposure to x-rays of sufficient energy to initiate photon-nucleus reactions where the photoneutron products are detectable. One may expose the entire object to photon-nucleus reaction initiating (i.e., photoneutron-generating) radiation. However, this approach implicates the duration and flux of the x-ray pulse and may result in ambient levels of radiation in excess of acceptable standards.